EU-Japan Freetrade agreement is a danger to people in both regions

EU-Japan Freetrade agreement is a danger to people in both regions

27 June 2017

The Party of the European Left is deeply concerned about the plans for a EU-Japan free trade agreement which is currently negotiated between the European Commission and the Government of Japan. It looks like the Commission is repeating the same political mistakes they made with the TTIP and CETA negotiations. Because of the size of the Japanese economy the results would effect about one third of the global economy.

In a blatant attack on democratic rights everything is negotiated behind closed doors and people in the EU and in Japan have to rely on whistle blowers and leaked documents. Those leaked documents suggest that JEFTA might currently constitute the biggest threat to workers and consumers rights and to the protection of the environment. JEFTA will cause yet another wave economic liberalisation and of deregulation and will make it nearly impossible to re-regulate certain areas.

Even if the controversial Investor-to-State-Dispute-Settlement (ISDS) mechanism should not be included in the agreement, we have to realise that the consequences will still be far reaching. This also seems to be a tactical decision in order to turn JEFTA into a deal which is only decided by the EU and not by the member states. The commission obviously intends to regulate the Investor-to-State-Dispute-Settlement separately from JEFTA. The Party of the European Left denounces such tactical ploys and demands to respect the democratic rights of the people in all the EU member state.

The negotiations seem to be nearly finalised and there is the strong possibility that the results will be publicly presented shortly before the G20 summit in Hamburg. The Party of the European Left does not regard JEFTA or any similar freetrade agreement as an adequate response to the policies of Trump and the Brexit. We call for an end the this undemocratic back-room policies and are committing ourselves to the protection of peoples rights in the EU and in Japan.